BREAKING: Scottish backbone needed at Rangers, says Ibrox legend Bobby Russell
The legendary Bobby Russell of Rangers has expressed his disappointment at the amount of Scottish players who have played for the Ibrox team in recent seasons, saying he would prefer to see a homegrown core moving forward.
Connor Barron, Robbie Fraser, John Souttar, and Scott Wright are the only players from his native Scotland who have worn a light blue jersey in the modern era. Russell was born in Glasgow and played with fellow countrymen like Jim Bett, Davie Cooper, Sandy Jardine, Derek Johnstone, Alex MacDonald, Tommy McLean, and Derek Parlane during his ten years in the first team in Govan. With their assistance, he won every domestic honor in the game.
The former midfield player believes that if more of Philippe Clement’s charges were from this nation, his team’s chances of winning domestic awards and succeeding in Europe would be increased.
He remarked, “Last season, I looked at the Rangers squad.” Twenty-two of the thirty players weren’t Scottish. And among the Scots present were three goalkeepers. That says a lot.
Naturally, this isn’t limited to Rangers and Celtic; it’s also the situation in England, as evidenced by the dearth of English players in Manchester City’s squad—all of these teams are now stacked with international players.
The issue is that the manager is under so much pressure to win games that he can’t experiment. If a kid has potential, he could throw him in, but it’s all about getting results. “You would think that with the Scottish game not being as much money as the English game that more youngsters would be getting their chance to show what they are capable of,” but that is not happening.
“As an old dinosaur, I like to see Scots in Scottish sides. I look back to the Rangers, Celtic, and Aberdeen teams which won European trophies. They were all-Scottish sides. When Dundee United got to a European final, they were an all-Scottish team as well. “I am not decrying the foreign players, but you need four, five, or six Scots in the Rangers team as far as I am concerned.” “The only Scot in the Rangers starting lineup this past weekend was John Souttar. If the team is winning, then supporters don’t really care who plays for them, whether they are Scottish, English, or whatever.